A tomato base that will go with pretty much anything

Hands up, who else forgets to take something out the freezer for dinner in the morning? I’m usually the one in our house that preps everyone’s food in the morning so you would think it would become part of the routine.

What I try to do at least once a month is stock up on a freezer stash or two and my tomato base is definitely top of the list because I can use it in pretty much anything….

• Pizza for dinner – tomato base
• Pasta – tomato base
• Curry – tomato base
• Soup – tomato base
• Some kind of vegetable medley – tomato base

I pack this with as much fresh veggies as possible so I don’t get that “parent-guilt” if I shove pasta with sauce in front of my Wild Child.

All veggies can be bought locally from farm stalls around Jersey. This is also great for adding any tomatoes which are going soft.

Ingredients

Don’t worry about finely slicing as it all goes into a blender.. Hurrah!

2 x onions or shallots (chopped)
3 x gloves of garlic (chopped)
2 x stalks of celery (chopped)
2 x carrots (peeled and chopped)
6 x large tomatoes (peeled and kept whole)
2 x teaspooons sweet paprika
Fresh or dried herbs
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat up two tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over a low to medium heat.
2. Add your onions and garlic. Fry until starting to go soft.
3. Add celery, carrots and a glug of balsamic vinegar. Fry for 5 minutes, giving everything a good stir.
4. Add the tomatoes into the saucepan. It’s important to keep them whole for as long as possible so they retain their natural sweetness.
   
5.  Add in a good sprinkle of herbs, salt and pepper. I like using fresh thyme from the garden and dried basil. Pop the lid on the saucepan and simmer for an hour. Check on the saucepan now and again to make sure there is plenty of liquid in the pan. If needs be add 200ml of warm water.
6. After an hour, take off the heat and then add in paprika. You can also add dried chillies if you want a base with a bit of a kick. Let it cool down before putting it in a blender.
7. Blitz in the blender for 1 minute, or less if you want chunkier sauce.

The sauce will keep for 1 week in the fridge in an air tight container or in the freezer for three months. If your freezing a stash to use for little ones, then use a weaning freezer tray so you can pop out portions to quickly add to pasta or vegetables.

 

Deliciously Ella with Jersey Festival of Words – from Kardashians and Haribo to a healthy eating empire

It maybe 11pm, but I’m a little buzzed after an evening with Ella Mills of Deliciously Ella fame and Jersey Festival of Words. Honest, relatable and funny, Ella spoke openly about her life and journey so far.

I enjoyed listening to Ella’s story. You can read more about her journey on the Deliciously Ella blog  but my favourite quip of the evening is how she used to sit watching the Kardashians and eating Haribo. It’s hard to imagine with someone who literally glows.

To think she started with a blog as a hobby to what is pretty much now a healthy eating empire is amazing. I’m also super impressed she still personally responds to comments and posts on social media as well as emails. Ella has passion for healthy eating and helping other people and it shows.

What inspired me most from was how she spoke about changing mindset and culture around food. Healthy food needs to sound exciting, especially for younger generations to get involved. Don’t just say “Have some greens”. It should be about “Have some greens sauteed with garlic, a dash of lemon and fresh herbs.” Make it an experience for people.

‘For anything to be enjoyable it needs to be sustainable’. 

 

She also gave some very relatable advice. The diet Ella leads may be labelled as restrictive by some but through her blog, social media and cook books she is giving people alternatives. You may dip in and out or select certain things, but if it’s inspiring people to think about differently then great – and that’s definitely something I am on board with!

Thanks to Jersey Festival of Words for letting me take over their Twitter for the evening. I had a great time. There is still a whole programme of authors and bloggers on until Sunday so check out the website.

#MeatFreeWeek – veggie chilli

Autumn is my favourite time of year and it feels like my life centres around warm, orange and red hues. This is especially so in the kitchen – squash, marrow, beetroot, sweet potato, carrots…

With the mild days and cool nights, a veggie chilli packs a good punch with lots of vitamin C to combat those back-to-school colds. Another one-pot meal for the whole family (depending on the spices you use). My weapon of choice for this one is my trusty Le Creuset cast iron pot.

I also use a special ingredient in this one… a shot of coffee! Don’t let that put you off. A shot of coffee adds a lovely earthy, smokey flavour to the dish.

All other ingredients are from farm stalls or the larger farm shops on the island.

Ingredients

2 x shallots or small onions (finely sliced)
3 x garlic cloves (finely sliced)
2 x sticks of celery (finely sliced)
2 x teaspoons of cajun spice mix
1 x teaspoon ground cumin
2 x teaspoon ground coriander
1 x teaspoon smoked paprika
1 x teaspoon coriander leaves (dried or fresh)
1 x shot of coffee (good quality instant or freshly ground is best)
1/2 sweet potato (cubed)
1 x small swede (cubed)
1 x small butternut (cubed)
1 x red pepper (roasted in the oven for 10 mins and cut into thick, long slices)
1 x tin of mixed beans
5 x large tomatoes (peeled) or 1 x tin of  whole tomatoes

Optional: Sweet corn, mushrooms, red chillies, chilli powder

To serve: wholemeal wraps, wholemeal rice, sliced avocado, natural yogurt or feta cheese.

Method

1. Heat a good glug of olive oil on the medium heat hob in a large, oven-proof dish with a lid. Turn the oven to 150ºC.
2. Add the garlic, celery and onions and cook until soft.
3. Add all the spices, except if you’re using fresh corriander then leave it until later on. Pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Add the swede and butternut and make sure it gets a good coating in the spices.  Cook for 5 mins on a medium heat.
5. Add your freshly peeled tomatoes or your tin of tomatoes. Keep your fresh tomatoes whole as it will keep the naturally sweet flavour. You may want to add about 200ml of water to your dish at this point to keep it moist whilst in the oven.
6. Add the sweet potato and the shot of coffee. Give everything a good stir.
7. Put the lid on and put in the oven. Let it cook for a good hour before adding the beans and red pepper. If you’re adding mushrooms this would also be the time to add them in.
8. Stir now and again and leave it to cook for another 30 minutes in the oven. You want the vegetables to be soft, but not turn to mush. You also want the consistency to be slightly sticky. If there is too much water then put your dish on the hob for a bit with the lid off.

I accidentally deleted the photo of the finished article on my phone, so here is an image from Google of what you’re aiming for.

#MeatFreeWeek – sweet potato and chickpea curry

This is my weekday go to dish. It’s fresh, it’s quick and you can add lots of different spices. It also works as a dish for the family. I like to use ready made herb and spice pots from the Spice House in the Central Market, the blends are really tasty and you can add your own spices to it depending on your taste.

You may think sundried tomatoes and coconut milk doesn’t work… but honestly give it a try, it has the most amazing sweet and tangy flavour.

I also like to make things in bulk that I can keep in the fridge for a week or so, or bag up for the freezer.  Blitzed sundried tomatoes will keep in the fridge for a week; perfect for this and pasta dishes, and the curry will be good for leftover lunch.

Ingredients

• 3 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
• 2 shallots – finely chopped
• Thumb sized of ginger – peeled and finely chopped
• Tablespoon of Coconut oil
• 150g of sundried tomatoes in oil, blitzed in a food processor to a paste
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tin of good quality coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons of ground almonds
• Dry spice mix – korma, balti or tandoori mix work well as they are quite mild
• Spinach or green beans
• Handful of flaked almonds (for adults only)

Optional – turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper, garam masala
For the kids’ portion you can replace green beans with frozen peas

Serves 2 adults with leftovers for lunch, plus 3-4 baby portions. Suitable from 9 months for babies

Method

1. Steam or boil the sweet potato chunks for 10/15 mins until al dente. Take off the heat and let them steam in the saucepan until required.
2. Heat the coconut oil over a medium heat in the wok. When melted add the garlic, shallots and ginger. Fry until soft but not brown.
3. Add your spice mix. I usually add a good tablespoon of the spice mix, then depending on how I’m feeling I would add a bit of ground turmeric, paprika or Garam masala. If you want to add more heat then make the kid’s portion alongside in a separate frying pan.
4. Add the blitzed sundried tomatoes and steamed sweet potato to the wok. Make sure you keep the food moving in the wok.
5. Add half of the coconut milk. If the milk and water have separated in the tin, add half the water and half the solid milk together, they will quickly combine in the wok as you stir the coconut milk in. Cook for 10 minutes
6. Add the chickpeas and the remaining coconut milk/water from the tin. Stir gently so the sweet potato doesn’t fall apart. Taste your curry and decide if you need extra spices depending on your taste.
7. Add ground almonds. Stir the curry now and again to stop it sticking to the wok.cook for another 5 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft.
8. Add in your greens. I love spinach or green beans. Add as much or as little as you like. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
9. Dish up and add flaked almonds for the adult portions. Serve with wild rice, chutney, lime pickle, popadums or nan bread.
10. For kids’ / baby portions you can mash the curry up and add frozen peas instead of green beans and spinach which can be stringy.

 

An Italian twist on a Jersey favourite – Jersey Royal potato gnocchi

With the Jersey Royal season at an end, this is a great time to buy a bag from your nearby farm shop or stall. I find the current Royals are slightly bigger than those produced at the start of the season, so makes this recipe even easier. You still get the unique salty, earthy flavours coming through but with a whole new texture.

Picking up our Royals from the neighbour’s road-side stall in St Ouen

Gnocchi is pretty much a mini dumpling. It’s simple cooking at its finest and the best bit is you can serve it up with pretty much anything.

In our house we have it with roasted vegetables and a garlic-laden tomato sauce, topped with feta cheese. Or, you could go even just serve it up with a garlic butter and some fresh herbs. Pesto is another favourite, especially for little foodies.

This recipe is perfect for the whole family, even those who are weaning. You can chop the gnocchi smaller for babies. It’s also great for freezing into small tuppa-wear. Defrost at room temperature and quickly heat up on the hob.

This recipe can also be gluten free and dairy free. Just swap the butter for a nut-based oil (rapeseed for example). The recipe below is with gluten free flour, but just swap for plain flour.

Jersey Royal potato gnocchi

Ingredients

500g Jersey Royal potatoes
250g gluten-free flour (or plain flour)
2 large, free-range eggs, lightly beaten
50g Jersey Dairy butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Scrub the Royal potatoes to remove dirt and the outer skin. Also, remove any blemishes bruises or eyes as it will be harder to roll later on.
   I like to keep the last outer layer of skin on to add a bit of texture, but it does make rolling the gnocchi out a bit more tricky. It’s up to you if you also want to scrub or peel that layer off.

   

2. Put the potatoes in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender and drain.
3. Put the butter in a large baking dish. Put the baking dish in the oven at 100°C.
4. Mash the potatoes in a bowl. Once it’s cooled, add the whisked egg, flour and a pinch of slat and pepper.
5. Using your hands, bring the mixture together into a firm dough. Knead the dough gently for a few minutes.
   
6. Pull off sections from the dough, about the size of your palm. Roll into a ball on a lightly flour-dusted chopping board and then roll into a sausage shape, roughly 2cm in diameter. Cut along the sausage with a sharp knife approx every 3cm.
   You may mind there are larger chunks of potato still in the dough which makes rolling slightly tricky. You can pull these chunks out and then roll the sausage shape again.
   
   

   
7. As you cut your gnocchi, place them on a lightly flour-dusted plate or board.
8. Using the largest saucepan you have, bring water to the boil and keep in bubbling. When all your gnocchi is ready, take a slotted spoon and boil a batch at a time. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan, so usually two spoonfuls at a time is best.

   TOP TIP: don’t stir the gnocchi once it’s in the saucepan. They will sink to the bottom of the pan and once they rise to the surface (50 seconds) quickly scoop them out with the slotted spoon.

9. Put the gnocchi into your buttered baking dish. Voila! Ready to serve with which ever sauce you fancy.

A spoon full of sugar helps the breakfast go down? Cereals lack the proper nutritional guide

We all know we shouldn’t have a chocolate bar for breakfast but what about a bowl of Kelloggs? Well, you may want to step away from that bowl.

This week I have read several blogs and newspaper articles talking about the traffic light system for food labelling, in particular cereals and the amount of sugar.

According to Action on Sugar, new research reveals you could eat a whopping 45 teaspoons less sugar per month if you switched to lower sugar brands through better labelling.

45 teaspoons….per month… let that sink in.

Initially I thought, well this must be directed at Frosties, Coco Pops, Rice Krispies… but no. Even those beautifully patterned boxes with connotations of a natural, healthy lifestyle are also on the hit list for not including nutritional information on the front of their packaging.

Here’s what Action on Sugar are campaigning for, which I support. It’s clear. It would apply across the board and I would feel more informed.

So what can you do in the mean time?

Action on Sugar suggest downloading the Food Switch app. With the app you can take a photo of a product bar code and it will tell you the nutritional information. It’s super simple and something you can do whilst shopping.

Make a swap, if you’re concerned about the amount of sugar in your cereal, to weetabix, porridge or homemade muesli. Lizzie Loves Healthy has some great alternative recipes.

My go to for the Wild Child is Mornflake, medium stoneground oatmeal. It’s about £1 per bag from 100% Health in Conway Street. I’ve been serving up a bowl of porridge for Violet ever since she was 6 months old, cooked with almond milk and topped with fruit. Sometimes I go a bit crazy and add in a bit of raw cacoa or desiccated coconut.

Mum tip

Once a month I buy a variety of fruit from the farm; pears, red apples, mango, peaches, blueberries. If you can buy local, seasonal fruit then bonus points. I then whizz them up in a blender and make a store of teeny tiny, 30ml pots of blended fruit for the freezer.

These pots are a lifesaver because I can quickly add them from frozen to hot porridge and it’s either ready when she gets to the childminder, or cools the porridge down so she can eat it straight away. I also add a couple teaspoons of chia seeds to get omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, iron, and calcium. Boom – super quick, nutritional breaky!

The frozen fruit pots are also great for the warmer months added to natural, full fat yoghurt.

These are the best small pots I’ve found from Joseph and Joseph (stage 1). The outer box has a handy dial on the outside so I know what date I made the last batch.

Not my kitchen

If you’re having second thoughts about what you eat for breakfast then post up your alternatives and give me a shout on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

 

Smoky Sweet Potato Tortilla – a bit of Spanish sunshine

This is one for the whole family, uses ingredients bought from the farm and is easy to add to your own twist. Except for the quick boil of a sweet potato, this is pretty much a one pan dish.

So why sweet potatoes instead of your average white potatoes? I have nothing against the humble white potato, it’s one of the most versatile of all vegetables, however sweet potatoes have a different flavour and are packed with vitamins (B6, C and D).

The recent rain have meant we’re not eating outside or on the beach as much as we would like, but this dish is easy to pack up and take for a picnic as soon as that glimmer of sun appears.

Serve it up with a crunchy salad and some sliced Spanish meats if you’re making it for more people. You can even add wilted spinach to the dish for that extra kick of iron.

Sweet potatoes, peppers, shallots, garlic and free range eggs from Lucas Brothers Jersey
Spices and herbs from Spice House, Central Market

Smoky Sweet Potato Tortilla

Makes three adult portions plus a few baby-sized portions

Ingredients

1 x red bell pepper
2 x banana shallots (finely sliced)
2 x cloves of garlic (finely sliced)
2 x medium sweet potatoes
5 or 6 x free-range eggs (depending on how eggy you like it)
A good knob of Jersey butter
1 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp of fresh thyme finely chopped, or ½ tsp of dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Feta cheese (optional)

Method

1. Chop the red bell peppers in half, scooping out the seeds and taking off the stalk. Put them (skin up) under the grill for 10 mins until charred. You want the skin to be black and blistered. Take them out and leave on the side to cool a little. Once they’re cool enough to handle, carefully peel off the charred skin and chop into thin slices.
2. Put your oven on at 190℃
3. Peel and chop the sweet potato in half. Then slice into roughly 2cm thick semi-circles. The semi-circles depend on the shape of your sweet potato, so it’s not crucial they are that shape, just as close as you can get it.
4. Put your sliced up sweet potato in a pan of boiling water for 5 mins, just so they soften slightly. Take off the heat and drain immediately.
5. Put a 20cm frying pan on a medium heat. Add a small bit of butter to fry the garlic and shallots. You only want to cook them until they go soft.
6. Whilst the shallots and garlic are cooking, in a large mixing bowl whisk your eggs with a fork so a few air bubbles form on the top. Add in both paprikas and thyme and give another quick whisk.
7. Add your shallots, garlic, sweet potato, sliced peppers with a pinch of salt and pepper. If you’re cooking for young babies, leave out the salt. If you want to add feta cheese at this point, then it’s best to roughly chop or crumble it into the bowl.
8. Carefully everything together in the bowl, so you don’t break up the sweet potato (I usually use a spatula for this bit).
9. Put your frying pan back on a medium heat  with a large knob of Jersey butter and pour the whole contents of your mixing bowl into the pan. Let your tortilla cook on the hob for about 5 mins and then put the frying pan in the oven for 20 mins.
10. Once cooked, turn the contents out onto a wooden board and serve with a crunchy side salad.

The tortilla is great for weaning too. It should be pretty soft and is easily chopped up for small mouths. One tortilla with salad is enough for three adult portions and about three baby portions. I keep ours in the fridge to reheat the next day for lunch.

If you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air

A friend of mine recently reminded me of the ‘By the River’ by Groove Armada.

If you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air,

Quaint little villages just here and there.

It pretty much sums up Jersey perfectly and this Island home is now my inspiration for my own drive to buy from local farmers and suppliers.

Image source: Jersey.com

Jersey is literally bursting with flavours. Just walk around the central markets, the country lanes to see the honesty boxes, or the harbours dotted around the coast with their fishing boats. We live on an island proud of its food heritage. My two main passions in life are cooking and my island home, and so Jersey Pickle Pantry was born.

I’ve been making a conscious effort over the past two years to buy local, especially when it comes to fresh produce, and with food becoming more expensive we also decided to cut down on our meat consumption. My husband is South African so it wasn’t an easy sell, but the promise of curries helped. All round it’s a win-win situation: good quality, fresh, majority is grown locally, supporting local business, saving the pennies and less food miles and packaging so better for the environment.

This all led to me researching and experimenting some quick, go to dishes for a week night, especially for those days when it was meat-free. I also wanted the dishes to be based on seasonal produce and what I could buy at nearby farm shops.

My other criteria was food that I could easily adapt for our wild child, Violet, who is 16 months going on 16 with an appetite you can only compare to walrus. She took an early interest in food (no surprises there) and initially I took the lead from an Annabel Karmel book (baby weaning guru with glowing skin and cashmere jumpers).

The wild child

From about 7 months she has been eating the same food as us, albeit minus the odd ingredient including salt and hot spices. I also want to make sure she’s getting the best start with her diet, and for me using Jersey produce ticks that box.

Over the next few months, I’ll be documenting our journey here and on the Jersey Pickle Pantry social media pages. I’ll also be posting some recipe ideas that are suitable for the whole family. If you have a question, want to find out more or get involved then I would love to hear from you.

I hope Jersey Pickle Pantry will introduce you to some of the best suppliers and growers in Jersey, and give you some family meal inspiration.

Me and the Wild Child